Novak Djokovic’s second game in this edition of the Australian Open was more demanding than the first, but again the Serbian won and finished in a dominant way. Coming from a very quiet debut , against the Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena, Djokovic this Thursday overcame the French Enzo Couacaud, 191st in the ranking and coming from the quali, and scored the partials of 6/1, 6/7 (5-7) , 6/2 and 6/0 in 3:05 hours of departure.
Nine-time Australian Open champion and current world number 5, Djokovic has a chance to return to the top of the rankings after the tournament. For that, the Serbian needs to win the title and reach the 22nd Grand Slam trophy of his career. The 35-year-old holds the record for weeks at No. 1 and has not topped the ATP rankings since June 6.
Djokovic’s next opponent will be Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, a former top 3 player currently ranked 28th at the age of 31. Dimitrov avoided a Serbian duel in the third round by beating Laslo Djere on Thursday 6-3, 6-2, 6-0. The former world number 1 has nine wins and just one defeat against the Bulgarian on the circuit.
Even at the beginning of the match, Couacaud sprained his right ankle in the game in which Djokovic broke service and made it 3/1. The Frenchman received care from the tournament’s medical team and remained on the court. But the Serb had ample control of the actions in the partial. He broke again, faced no break-points, and led the winners stat 13-3.
After suffering constant pressure on his service in the opening set, Couacaud opened the next partial with three games of serve a little more calmly and also tried to be more aggressive. But it didn’t take long for Djokovic to get another break. The biggest champion of the tournament was impeccable in the service games and showing a consistent game in the background rallies, defending himself very well.
